Bryson Friesen

Bryson Zachary Ty Friesen, age 17, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, January 2, 2021. He will be deeply missed and forever loved by his parents, Jon & Shannon Friesen, sister Taylor (Matt) and brothers Jayden and Jaxon.

He is also survived by his paternal grandparents, Paul & Tina Friesen and maternal grandma, Dorothy Chornoboy, many aunts and uncles, cousins, and friends along with his special friend Hollie.

Bryson was predeceased by his maternal grandpa, Gary Chornoboy December 26, 2020.

Bryson instantly brought joy to the family with his bright blue eyes and joyful and energetic character. Not only were his parents thrilled at his arrival, being the third child to join the family, Bryson had a dotting big sister and big brother to love on him and whom he always looked up to.  He later became a proud big brother to Jaxon.

At two years old it was evident that sports would become a passion for Bryson as he was never far from a mini stick. This passion grew and sports became a huge part of his life. He was so excited when he got to play ‘real hockey’ like his big brother Jayden and this began many great years of winters spent at the rink, building and developing relationships and friendships. We have so many great memories of his time playing for the Mitchell Mohawks, Jr. Pistons and then the SouthEast Blizzard. These friendships grew and continued over the years creating many memories outside the rink. A hockey highlight for Bryson, was meeting Don Cherry and Ron MacLean at Hockey Day in Canada in 2008 when he was able to play in a game at this special event.

At the age of 10, Bryson started to play community football with the Eastman Raiders and eventually played Jr. Varsity and Sr. Varsity Sabres football at the SRSS. We remember after his very first football game the pride and joy he displayed when he came off that field which is something that we will never forget.

While hockey and football were his favorite competitive sports, Bryson also loved the water. As a small kid he was like a little fish and spent hours in the pool each summer at home and later at the family cottage on the lake water skiing and tubing. In winter this translated to sledding with his Dad and friends on the long trail rides.

Growing up on the farm gave opportunity to make a dirt bike track around the yard where friends would come over and the boys would have fun for hours dirt biking around the yard.  Bryson loved connecting with friends, whether it was the ones he grew up with in his school, cell group or on his many sports teams.  We hope these friends will share and remember the good memories they made.

Bryson was proud of getting this first job at Mitchell Co-op where he worked hard and saved his money to buy his first car. He did some additional full time IT work for HSD in the summer months. When his summer job ended this year, he transitioned to working on a dairy farm where he loved his work and dreamed of how he could become a dairy farmer as well.

We will cherish all the memories of our family trips down to Mexico, along with road trips to Wisconsin Dells, the Black Hills and other short weekend trips away with family and friends. A special memory for Bryson was our trip to Florida where he was able to be a Jedi at Disneyworld and fight against Darth Vadar.  He also had the opportunity to attend a Tampa Bay Lightning game vs the Washington Capitals where his least favourite player, Ovechkin gave him a puck - he was still proud to get. In the past number of years, we enjoyed many weekends at the lake with family and friends and especially our ‘cabin crew’.

Bryson was so blessed to have such caring grandparents who loved and spoiled him. Many of his friends also were blessed to get to know Bryson’s grandparents joining them on camping trips and sleepovers over the years.

With a twinkle in his eye and a smirk on his face, Bryson could light up a room when he walked in. We will miss Bryson so, so much. He brought so much joy and love to our home and we will miss his chipper self in the mornings, how he loved to make pancakes for his brothers and how he always expressed how proud he was of his family. He made us so proud with his hard work ethic and his kind and compassionate spirit which was evident at home and how he expressed that towards others.

Bryson loved sports and already expressed an interest in helping coach and thus to honor his memory, and in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Bryson Friesen Sports Memorial Fund (GoFundMe) to enable more kids to have the opportunity to play the sports that Bryson so loved to play. Cheques, payable to the Bryson Friesen Sports Memorial Fund, may also be dropped off at Crossings Funeral Care.

The family wishes to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support from family and friends during this most difficult time. We ask for your continued prayers as we journey this road.

If there is anyone that is struggling or hurting, know that you are not alone, nor do you need to face this alone; please reach out to someone.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions public viewing will be by appointment only in groups of five. Please email brysonfriesenviewing@gmail.com to have an appointment time assigned to you.